No Indoor Voice
26th November

A young man of almost giant height sprinted down the corridor of the Music Department with a guitar case on his back and his arms flailing above his head like one of those blow-up tube-men at a gas station. It was a given that that specific block would be the loudest of all, but this student was taking it up a notch with his inhuman warbling. From the yelling, all that could be made out was "Accepted", "Vacation" and "Noona-Yah!"

The screaming beanpole with his hair askew was Park ChanYeol, and he was one of those people you couldn't tell if they were a nerd or cool kid; he would talk to everyone and seemed to fit in wherever he went but by God, the boy was insane. Music was his Major so it wasn't all that surprising that he dabbled in a handful of instruments and with his gravelly voice, it was often said that he should try rapping. Besides being musically skilled, ChanYeol had many female admirers because of his staggering height, boyish good looks, and the fact he was charming. Despite his popularity, he was clueless to the fact that he had an ever-growing fanclub. At home, he was not so popular. His siblings always took precedence over their parent’s time attention whenever they were together. In the last month, he had seen his younger siblings around once a week, his mother twice, and his father and older brother not at all.

ChanYeol dodged around his peers trying to make plans for the weekend without paying attention to his uncoordinated body and dashed through the fire exit. Running straight out into the frigid late afternoon air, the boy pelted across the concrete yard covered in another lot of fresh falling snow.

He had many friends, but none like the person he was racing after. The Senior he was looking for had a very specific reputation, but that didn’t bother ChanYeol. After all, he had been pegged for everything between a rockstar wannabe, to a womanizer who would lure Freshmen to a cabin to get their goods. ChanYeol had little interest in that kind of thing. He did revel in a good conversation though – something most people didn’t think he was capable of. He was known for being good at music related tasks, and he was no doubt handsome, so he was immediately dismissed as having a brain.  

He thought that too, and then she said it the same night they met. “There are four things that attract people to each other; Personality, looks, mind, and power. Nobody can have all of those, no matter how perfect they seem.”

That was probably why he was friends with his Senior; she was neither interested in being an item with him, nor cared about the shtick she got from the surrounding groupies for spending so much time with him. She was coarse, and spoke bluntly when asked a question, and had the most horrendous sense of humour. She cared about him when nobody else would, and she called everything like she saw it, which is why he trusted her more than anything, or anyone.

Hoodie hanging off his left shoulder and hair damp with melting snow, the Music Major panted at the outer doorway to the stand-alone gymnasium. ChanYeol paused to watch the Tae Kwon Do team in the middle of their practice, his eyes scanning the numerous pairs sparring until he caught who he was after. "Noona-Yah!" He called out across the cold, open space with its shutters open, his cave-like voice causing many of the occupiers to turn around and give disapproving stares.

The woman with white locks tied up in a high ponytail recognized the voice and glanced back over her shoulder, dropping the guard over her left side. While she wasn't paying attention, her sparring partner took a cheap shot at the exposed area. The female grunted when she received a swift kick to the side of the ribs. Winded, the tall female’s knee hit the mat and gripped her side in pain.

ChanYeol watched what had happened, his eyes growing exponentially wider as the realization cut through his own troubles. All attention shot to the pair at the far end of the gym. Dropping his stuff at the door and kicking off his shoes like they were about to eat his feet, the intruder scrambled over the first mat and ran for his friend in panic.

Updated: 29th December 2018 - 18:42